Chapter 196
"What..." Qin Zhaoyang's words were cut off.
"BEEP—!!!"
A piercing car horn suddenly blared at the edge of the sports field.
Everyone subconsciously turned their heads.
They saw a small refrigerated truck with the slogan "A Cool Summer, Delivered Fast" ignoring the roadblocks and driving straight over.
With a beautiful tail flick, it parked steadily next to the Economics and Management Department's formation.
The door opened, and a plump driver in blue overalls jumped down. Holding a receipt, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Who is Gu Ran, Boss Gu? The iced mung bean soup and special herbal tea you ordered have arrived! Five large buckets in total, plus two boxes of ice!"
Everyone's eyes swiveled to the calm and collected young man standing in the shade of the trees.
Gu Ran reassuringly patted Zhang Qi's shoulder and walked forward unhurriedly.
"That's me."
"Alright, Boss Gu! Where should I unload the stuff?"
"Just leave it here."
Gu Ran pointed to the empty space next to Qin Zhaoyang.
The driver worked nimbly, opening the rear trunk.
A puff of white cold air instantly billowed out.
Five half-man-tall stainless steel insulated buckets were unloaded, their sides covered in glistening water droplets.
The lids were lifted, revealing buckets filled to the brim with mung bean soup. Crushed ice floated on top, giving off an enticing, sweet and refreshing aroma.
"Gulp."
Someone swallowed hard.
On such a hot day, lukewarm watermelon and mineral water simply couldn't compare to this chilled mung bean soup radiating cold air.
Gu Ran turned around, looked at the dumbfounded Zhang Qi and Li Ming, and smiled.
"What are you staring at? Time to work."
The two woke up as if from a dream and rushed forward excitedly to help.
Gu Ran picked up a disposable paper cup and scooped up a cup of mung bean soup.
He didn't drink it himself; instead, he held it up and addressed the whole class loudly.
"Classmates, today's cold drinks are not my personal treat."
He pointed at Zhang Qi and Li Ming, his voice clear.
"This is the opening sponsorship provided by the 'Qingda Campus Computer Repair Center' founded by our classmates Zhang Qi and Li Ming!"
"In the future, if your computers get a virus, blue screen, or if you want to install an OS or clean the dust, feel free to contact Dorm 404!"
Saying this, he looked at the stiff-faced Qin Zhaoyang nearby, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly in a devastating blow.
"Not only our class, but the brothers and sisters from the neighboring squads also get a share! Drink as much as you want!"
After a brief silence.
"Holy crap! Brother Gu is awesome!"
"He's practically our savior!"
"Iced mung bean soup! Brother Gu gave me my life!"
"Computer repair, right? I just happen to need to reinstall my system! I'll definitely support it!"
The crowd instantly boiled over.
The classmates who were originally gathered around Qin Zhaoyang all swarmed over to Gu Ran.
Even the students from the neighboring formation came over eagerly, calling him "Brother Gu" with great affection.
This was the difference in vision.
Compared to Qin Zhaoyang using his living expenses for petty favors, Gu Ran directly pulled in sponsorships and did ground promotion, turning a simple treat into a commercial promotion.
He won people's hearts, promoted the business, and slapped Qin Zhaoyang in the face all at the same time.
In a short while, there was no one left by Qin Zhaoyang's side.
He stood alone under the scorching sun, still holding the half-eaten piece of watermelon.
His face turned from red to white, and then from white to green, a spectacular display of colors.
Gu Ran poured a cup of iced herbal tea and slowly walked up to Qin Zhaoyang.
"Class Monitor Qin."
Gu Ran handed the herbal tea over and casually stuffed a flyer, which he had asked the driver to print on the way, into Qin Zhaoyang's hand.
It was designed overnight by Zhang Qi after he went to sleep, with the words "Door-to-door Repair, Professional and Efficient" printed on it.
Gu Ran patronizingly patted Qin Zhaoyang on the shoulder, "You should save that little bit of living expenses."
Then he leaned close to Qin Zhaoyang's ear and whispered.
"You're still too green to try and win people over."
After saying that, Gu Ran turned and left, leaving Qin Zhaoyang standing stunned in the wind.
Trembling all over, he crushed the flyer in his hand to pieces.
...
Meanwhile, at the Medical School formation.
The atmosphere here was much more oppressive than at the Economics and Management Department.
The instructor in charge of the Medical School was a dark-faced man, famously strict, and would not tolerate the slightest nonsense.
"Report! Instructor, I'm dizzy! I want to rest!"
Lin Yu raised her hand, her voice delicate, and her body swayed a couple of times as if she were a fragile willow in the wind, ready to faint at any moment.
She had purposely applied a toning cream today to make her face look pale, thinking that this "Lin Daiyu-style" frailty would win sympathy.
After all, what man could refuse a pitifully beautiful woman?
However, the dark-faced instructor just cast a cold glance at her.
"Dizzy? Your hands looked pretty steady when you were secretly applying sunscreen earlier!"
The instructor roared, startling Lin Yu so much that she shivered and almost really collapsed onto the ground.
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking! Trying to slack off? No way! Step out of the ranks! Five extra minutes of standing at attention!"
"Huh?"
Lin Yu was dumbfounded.
"Huh what! Move faster!"
Under the teasing gazes of the whole class, Lin Yu could only dejectedly stand at the very front under the sun.
Her face was burning hot, whether from the sun or from shame, she didn't know.
The instructor snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, finally stopping on a figure in the front row of the formation.
"Open your eyes wide! Look at her!"
The instructor shouted loudly, pointing at Ye Zhenzhen.
"This is what you call a proper military stance! Firm gaze, absolutely motionless! Not even blinking when sweat flows into her eyes!"
Under the scorching sun, Ye Zhenzhen wore a baggy camouflage uniform, but it couldn't hide her slender figure.
Her back was as straight as a sword, her chin slightly tucked, her gaze cold and focused.
Sweat slid down her fair, slender neck, dampening the stray hairs at her temples.
Yet she didn't look disheveled in the slightest; instead, she exuded a unique kind of beauty.
"You, step out!"
The instructor pointed at Ye Zhenzhen.
"Only a student like this can be called a model soldier!"
Countless envious and amazed glances were immediately cast her way.
Even the boys from the neighboring department couldn't help but look over repeatedly, taking out their phones to secretly snap photos.
The rest whistle blew.
Ye Zhenzhen walked into the shade and picked up her water bottle to drink.
Lin Yu, sporting a sunburnt red face, walked over exasperatedly and said in a passive-aggressive tone.
"Model Soldier Ye really has great stamina."
Lin Yu deliberately raised her volume, her sharp and mean voice sounding especially piercing in the crowd.
"Tossing around in a luxury car for half the night yesterday, and still able to stand so straight today. You're truly 'gifted'. Seems like that old man really knows how to dote on people?"
Catching the scent of gossip, the surroundings instantly quieted down.
The gazes of many classmates who didn't know the truth turned strange, and whispers arose.
"Luxury car? Old man?"
"No way, she looks so pure..."
Zhao Xiaoxiao and Chen Jing were so furious they were about to stand up and curse at her.
But Ye Zhenzhen held them down.
She elegantly screwed the lid back onto her thermos.
She slowly turned around and humblebragged.
"It was quite tiring."
The girl's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"After all, my boyfriend is simply too exceptional. Between managing his company and handling development projects, my hands are getting cramped just from helping him count all his money."
Lin Yu was so choked by her words that she nearly forgot how to breathe.
A low ripple of laughter spread through the surrounding crowd.
"Getting hand cramps from counting money? I wish I had that kind of problem!"
Having failed to achieve her goal, she stomped her foot in bitter frustration, turned, and ran away.
Not far away, a few guys with DSLR cameras were frantically snapping photos of Ye Zhenzhen.
"Holy crap, this girl is so badass!"
"Those looks, that aura—she is an absolute goddess!"
"Quick, post it on the campus forum! I've already got the perfect title: 'The Medical School's Most Beautiful Military Training Goddess: Gorgeous and Badass!'"
Meanwhile, hiding in a corner, Lin Yu watched the scene unfold. With trembling fingers, she unlocked her phone and frantically refreshed the smear thread.
"Just you wait... Once public opinion boils over, let's see if you can still act so arrogant!"
......
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
